This week we're taking a look at movies opening Sept. 14, an exclusively English-speaking schedule of six films that have in common that each of them costs only $2 in September-November Box Office Moguls leagues. In Ultimate Movie Moguls leagues it's a whole different story, of course. That's why I'm here, to tell you which ones might be worth the money, and which to avoid.

I'll begin with the safest buy of the week for the September-November season, a low-key feature that goes by the title The Great World of Sound. It's the directing debut of Craig Zobel, a name that doesn't sound all that familiar. If, however, you're a fan of David Gordon Green's work (as I am), you'll be happy to know that Zobel's a close collaborator of Green's, having worked as a producer or a second unit director on George Washington, All the Real Girls and Undertow. (Returning the favor, Green is a producer on Zobel's film). It's the kind of pedigree that definitely makes you (me) want to see The Great World of Sound, which follows a man who, after answering an ad, trains to become a music producer, touring through the country to audition possible talent and trying to discover an artist who could become the next big thing. (Isn't that more or less what we do with films on this site?)

As good as the movie sounds, though (with a funny trailer and a slighty '70s vibe that again reminds us of David Gordon Green), the problem with owning it is that it is not preceded by a strong reputation built on the festival circuit and has a completely unknown cast. It will open in only a few New York theaters, but don't expect any PTA from your (admittedly minimal) $2 investment (Great World of Sound is the only film opening Sept. 14 that's $2 in both types of leagues). With a user rating of only 5 for the moment on IMDb (with more than 150 votes), it seems unlikely to provide much of a boost there either.

Moving up the scale in terms of price, we find Moving McAllister, and odd-looking comedy by the guy who directed Pride and Prejudice. No, not the one with Keira Knightley — it's another version, one that no one saw. (Yes, you in the back, that one! Where did you see it?!) There will probably be more people on the lookout for for this one, a road movie that cruises between Miami and L.A., in which a law-firm intern must bring his boss's niece across the country, and along the way meets a lot of strange people. It looks goofy, is filled with great character actors like Rutger Hauer, Geoffrey Lewis, William Mapother and Billy Drago, and has another name in the cast that is an attraction in itself: Jon Heder.

At a cost of just $4 in the September-November Ultimate leagues, this one could look like a fine little film to put your money on, especially when you see its 8.8 User Rating on IMDb. Moving McAllister also has a Mormon stamp on it (thanks mostly to its cast and crew), although that won't have much appeal ... unless the distributor only opens the film in Utah theaters. Besides, the User Rating doesn't even have 40 votes. With no box-office, Top 5 or PTA prospects, you could probably do better with your $4.

If you're more into Woody Allen-like humor, then maybe Ira & Abby will suit you better. Remember Kissing Jessica Stein from a few years ago, that refreshing little romantic comedy that became the surprise indie hit of spring 2002? Well if you ever wondered what became of Jennifer Westfeldt, the lovely screenwriter/lead actress ... she's back. Westfeldt wrote and stars in this tale of a man and a woman who marrying quickly after meeting, only to discover that maybe they tied the knot too soon. Therapy, family, and jewish humour all over the place ensue. It's the kind of concept I like, and the kind that should play well in limited release, especially with the benefit of good press and/or crowd-pleasing buzz. And guess what? The movie is an Audience Award winner at two festivals of note so far, and currently holds a 9 User Rating on IMDb (although with just above 50 votes). It also helps to have the likes of Frances Conroy, Jason Alexander or Fred Willard in the supporting cast.

In the end, you probably won't have the indie sensation of the fall, or even the box-office surprise or PTA king. But even if it doesn't make out as well as Kissing Jessica Stein (opening weekend PTA above $13,000 at 26 theaters and box-office cume of $7 million), Ira & Abby should grab a couple of PTA points and wind up with an IMDb number in the mid-to-high 7s. As for box-office revenues, don't expect more than $2-3 million at best. It may not have stellar potential, but it's definitely not the worst you could do for $9 in September Ultimate leagues.

Also reasonably priced (just $10) in September Ultimate leagues, our next release is a film I like. Which is not to say that I've seen it like it, the way that I've seen and liked, say, Open Range (sorry for the totally gratuitous Kevin Costner reference). I haven't seen King of California, but I like its profile. It's a quirky comedy with an A-list star, whose appearances on the big screen have become quite rare of late, but who here seems to have found a perfect character: totally nuts and apparently lovable. The man we're talking about is Michael Douglas. If you look at it, Douglas hasn't made that many films in his career, not even one per year, and it seems like we haven't seen him in a role worthy of his gifts in ages (probably not since 2000, when he was great in both Traffic and Wonder Boys). King of California lets him play a man released from a mental institution who embarks, with his strong-willed and semi-depressed 16-year-old daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), on a quest to find the long-lost treasure of a Spanish conquistador, which he believes lies buried somewhere beneath their California suburb.

The pitch is great, with enough room for both comedy and drama, and the film is produced by none other than Alexander Payne and his Sideways producer Michael London (a guarantee of good quality). The director is an unknown named Mike Cahill, and the early word of mouth is good (translation: a friend of mine saw it and told me it was good, and he doesn't like that many films). Plus, the current User Rating on IMDb is a promising 8.4 (but with not quite 100 votes). For $10, it's a good film to have on your slate, especially when you consider that it's likely to open in a very limited number of theaters, grabbing some PTA points, but could go wide thanks to the very marketable presence of Douglas and Wood. It all depends on how many theaters open the film come Sept. 14. Fantasy Moguls predicts 2 PTA points, a 7.2 User Rating and a box-office cume of $5.2 million. Don't grab this film for its box-office potential, but if you're looking for a good User Rating and a few PTA points, this one should be worth its price.

One film I can't quite trust is December Boys. It's almost sad to say, but the only reason this film is on the map, the only reason it will get noticed and talked about at all, is Daniel Radcliffe. That's a decently big reason of course, since Radcliffe is the lead actor of the biggest film franchise of the last 10 years (I won't remind you of it's name; I'm pretty sure that most of you already know). The truth is, however, that the British teenager hasn't proven himself to be a box-office draw outside the comfortable shoes of his boy wizard alter-ego. In fact, December Boys will be his first starring role on the big screen since he started making the films that have made him the richest minor on the planet. Getting back to the movie itself, it's an adaptation of an Australian best-seller of the same name, that focuses on four orphan boys in Australia in the late 1960s, leaving their orphanage for a holiday by the sea. There, they hear of a couple who might be interested in adopting one of them, causing hope and tension among the boys.

The film is directed by Rod Hardy, a veteran TV director who has rarely ventured toward the big screen. Fantasy Moguls is predicting box-office revenues of $4 million, 3 PTA points, and a 7.1 IMDb User Rating. My take is that this one is a wild card for its $12 (August leagues) or $11 (September leagues) price. The question is, will anyone want to see this film, besides the teen girl crowd that is crazy over Harry Potter (oops, I mentioned it)? The film should open in Los Angeles and New York, before expanding a few weeks later. If you have faith in Radcliffe's drawing power, give it a shot.

The next film will cost you a bit more. It is Silk, a (deep breath) French/Canadian/Japanese/Italian/British co-production directed by Quebec-born François Girard, whose last (and most renowned) feature was The Red Violin (which had Samuel L. Jackson taking a break from his typically badass roles). Girard's comeback, after almost 10 years, will surely attract curiosity among a few film buffs (though probably not that many), especially when people discover that Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley and Alfred Molina are among the cast. Now, I must confess that until very recently, I wasn't all that interested in Silk ... but then I saw its trailer. I happen to like all type of films, from every genre, but there are some I love more than others, and epic dramas are among those.

My point is not to let you know what kind of films I like (did I mention that I love Open Range?), but rather to observe that when an epic drama, or more precisely a war-torn romance set between Europe and Japan in the 19th Century, opens in limited release, with an actor who draws indie fans (Michael Pitt) and an actress who draws much larger audiences (Keira Knightley), you have the potential for an arthouse breakout on your hands. This one reminds me of The Painted Veil from last year: similar theme, two strong leads, small initial release. The difference is Silk opens at a much less competitive time of year than John Curran's film. One sticking point is that, as of this minute, there are no official projections, no printed reviews of the film, and therefore no word of mouth whatsoever. But with a Toronto Film Festival premiere very soon, that could change, especially if the movie is as good as its trailer.

Silk will set you back $13 in August Ultimate leagues and $14 in September leagues. Fantasy Moguls predicts box-office revenues of $5.2 million, 5 PTA Points, and a 6.9 User Rating. I couldn't agree more on the PTA, but I think the rating could go higher, possibly in the mid 7s. It's hard to advise you to take Silk when there are so many excellent options in the September leagues for $14, but it certainly wouldn't be a waste of your money. P.S.: Among the Japanese actors is the always-terrific Koji Yakusho, seen in most of Kyoshi Kurosawa's films, and in last year's Babel.

Now, I've saved the biggest chunk of my word count for last. No, I did not forget this next film. In fact, I had to threaten Shrykespeare to get him to let me handle it. So ... Eastern Promises. David Cronenberg. Viggo Mortensen. Naomi Watts. What's to say or not say about such a film? Canadian director Cronenberg has a devoted cult following. For years and years, he was the master of visceral genre movies, mixing horror, sci-fi, and eroticism. Not the kind of films that make tens of millions of dollars at the box-office, and not the kind that a broad audience might want to see. Two years ago, however, Cronenberg surprised everyone with what might be his most accessible and yet most masterfully handled film, A History of Violence, which also starred Mortensen and went on to become the director's biggest success, selling more than $31 million worth of tickets at U.S. theaters alone.

Will Eastern Promises be as successful as A History of Violence? Probably not. Violence began to grow its buzz at Cannes, months ahead of its release, with Viggo fresh from his Lord of the Rings glory. Cronenberg's new film will be released just a few days after its Toronto Film Festival premiere, which should also be its worldwide premiere. That's not much of a window for buzz to build. Still, A History of Violence's critical and public acclaim should help launch Eastern Promises, at least initially. The plot could also bring audiences: a woman working in a London hospital becomes the target of a Russian crime organization. Watts, of course, plays the woman, and Mortensen plays a driver and man trusted by the crime organization's boss. The pitch, the cast, the director, all fits for a success that should transcend arthouse fare. If the word gets around that Aragorn himself bares all for the camera, then you could have a ready and willing female audience.

The only object of concern might be the release strategy of Focus Features: instead of opening the film in a platform model, they're throwing Eastern Promises into more than 700 theaters right in the first weekend. That will definitely impact its PTA potential, especially on a weekend with so many star-studded films, both in limited and wide release. In September Box Office leagues, it's one of the best options there is for $2. In August Ultimate leagues, $20 is a bit high. But in September Ultimate leagues, you can have it for just $13. And that, fellow Moguls, is an interesting price for a movie that will get you some box-office (Fantasy Moguls predicts $7.5 million, but it could well go higher), PTA (FM predicts 5, don't expect more) and almost certainly a good User Rating, probably more than the 6.8 predicted, above 7 for sure. Oh, and I haven't mentioned it yet, but better late than never, right? The cool and magnetic Vincent Cassel plays Mortensen's dangerous sidekick.

It's getting long and late, so I better get quickly with my telescope to my pick of the week, scrutinizing a little film whose opening is still a ways down the road. And today that film is Funny Games, director Michael Haneke's remake of his own film, made 10 years ago in his native Austria. The film follows two young psychopaths who take a family hostage in their vacation home. One thing that often (always?) pays dividend with arthouse releases is polemic. And if there's one film that could create such a phenomenon this fall, this is the one. If Haneke is faithful to his 1997 film (and if you know the director's career, then you can't picture him "selling out" to Hollywood), visual and psychological torture will ensue on the screen, and lots of ink will be used to comment on it in the papers (and on the Web). The current backlash against violent films could hurt in User Ratings (but after all, the 1997 Funny Games is at 7.7), but this one should be PTA gold, especially with lead actors Naomi Watts, Tim Roth and Michael Pitt. Funny Games is slated for Oct. 26. Keep an eye on it.

That's all for now! Rendezvous next Thursday to discuss what the arthouse has in store for you on Sept. 21.

Indie Jones wishes that all of those "Kevin Costner in Indiana Jones IV" rumors had been accurate. Like, really wishes it. Sometimes he dreams about it. Tell him your own fond cinematic hopes at danceswiththearthouse@gmail.com.